Snedeker, Cabrera surge; Woods remains in the field

Woods remains in the field despite penalty

david j. phillip/Associated Press
Brandt Snedeker hits out of a bunker on the second hole during the third round of the Masters on Saturday in Augusta, Ga. Snedeker shot a 69 to move to 7-under par and a tie for the lead with Angel Cabrera.

One of the hottest golfers in the 2013 season’s early going surged at Augusta on Saturday, and set himself as a top contender as the 77th Masters heads into the final round.

But it was the world’s No. 1 player who caught the most heat before day three even began when it appeared he might get chased from the tournament.

Nashville’s Brandt Snedeker, who already has one victory and two runner-up finishes this year, moved to the top of the leaderboard with a 69, putting him at 7-under with 18 holes to go. Joining him is 2009 Masters champion Angel Cabrera, who also shot a 69 and stands at 7-under.

Adam Scott is 6-under par while Marc Leishman and second round leader Jason Day come into this morning two strokes off the pace at 5-under.

Matt Kucher is 4-under and Tim Clark and Tiger Woods are both at 3-under.

Snedeker hit 15 greens in regulation in his bogey-free round, had no three-putts and finished with three birdies — all coming over the last six holes.

“I had a couple tough up and downs early on 3 and 4, and a really tough up and down on 12, and those kept the momentum going, kept the round going,” said Snedeker, who has battled injuries the past couple of years. “It’s not easy out there. I was able to kind of get lucky a few times and miss the ball in the right spots. This golf course is just waiting to make you pay for a bad shot and I did a good job of managing my game today.”

The top performers and top performances were almost overshadowed by the Woods’ saga, though.

Woods was given a two-stroke penalty for an illegal drop on No. 15 Friday. Instead of being disqualified however — and that appeared to be on the table before Competition Committee chairman Fred Ridley clarified things — Woods was given a break since officials originally saw the drop as proper until a TV viewer pointed out the violation.

Once they ruled it illegal after the fact Rule 33.7 was applied, allowing the Committee to waive the disqualification.

“Under the rules of golf I can play,” Wood said. “I was able to go out there and compete and play. Evidently this is the Harrington rule, I guess. If it was done a year or two ago, whatever, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to play. But the rules have changed, and under the rules of golf I was able to play.”

The Harrington rule refers to an incident involving Paidrig Harrington when he was disqualified from the Abu Dhabi Championship in 2011 for inadvertently moving his ball.

It was reported by a TV viewer who emailed tourney officials.

Although Woods lost two strokes due to the penalty he finished with a 70 on Saturday and is now well within reach of his fifth green jacket.

Another multiple Masters champion, Phil Mickelson, is out of the running.

The three-time Augusta winner was 5-over Saturday and 8-over for the week, putting him tied for 56th place.

“I just played terrible,” Mickelson said. “There’s no way around it. I’m just not hitting very good golf shots, missing it in bad spots and not really knowing which side I’m going to miss it on. So my play has been beyond terrible, and that’s certainly disappointing.”

Cabrera began the day at 4-under and steadily worked his way up the chart, using six birdies to counter three bogeys.

Snedeker, who tied for third here in 2008, has five PGA Tour victories and is making his sixth Masters appearance.

“Yeah, it’s been two seasons, I guess, is the best way to put it,” he said. “The first part of the season, I was healthy, playing great, nothing was wrong. And then I got hurt and had to start pretty much from scratch again. So getting that feeling back, the momentum back, like I did early in the year, I feel like my golf swing is getting back to the way it was. My short game is in really good stead and I’m excited.

“I’m fresh, I’m mentally fresh and physically fresh, and you know, this is what I’ve worked my whole life for is (today). So I’m really excited about what tomorrow holds.”

Cabrera has now strung together rounds of 71, 69 and 69 to grab a share of first.

“In 2009, I was nervous, anxious,” he said. “But now I’m very comfortable. I know what I’ve got to do (today) to be able to get the win.” Seventeen players are still in the red but the round of the day belonged to Tim Clark.

His 67 puts him at 5-under after hitting the first tee box at 2-over.

Making his 12th Masters appearance, Clark finished second at Augusta in 2006.

“Yeah, this surprises me,” Clark said. “I thought I’d shot better rounds than that out there, but it was gettable for me today being firmer, the fairways being firmer anyway, and going off early, the front nine, the greens are somewhat receptive, so I was able to get some birdies early and sort of try and hang on.”